Improved anti-seizure protection for joints, particularly suitable for the petroleum sector

Abstract: Anti-seizure protection for a threaded joint or sleeve (1), particularly suitable for the petroleum sector, comprising a first film layer (4) of a copper-zinc alloy anchored to the threads of said joint (1) and a second film layer (5) of lead anchored to said first layer (4), said anchoring being preferably achieved by ionic deposition.

Description: This invention relates to a new anti-seizure protection which allows effective and reliable screwing and unscrewing of a threaded joint without the use of grease containing powdered lead. As is well known, in the petroleum sector, high corrosion resistant pipes constructed of nickel-chromium-molybdenum (Ni-Cr-Mo) alloys are connected together at their ends by threaded joints or sleeves of the same material, cooperating with corresponding threads on the pipes to be connected together. However because of their Ni-Cr-Mo composition, said joints or sleeves have a considerable tendency to seize. In the state of the art, this problem is overcome by galvanically depositing copper (Cu) or ionically depositing a silver-palladium (Ag-Pd) alloy on the threads of said joints. However in either case it is necessary to further apply a layer of grease during screwing, experimental tests having shown that this grease must necessarily contain powdered lead (Pb) to be effective. Recent European Community and American regulations state however that for ecological, hygiene and safety reasons, the use of any grease containing lead powder is prohibited, the use of such a grease, which degrades at high operating temperatures, also inevitably leaving particulates which increase the risk of seizure during unscrewing. The object of the present invention is to obviate said drawbacks by providing an anti-seizure protection which does not require the use of lubricants containing powdered lead. This is substantially attained by depositing in the form of metal ions on the joint threads all those metal particles which are generally present in a grease, hence rendering superfluous the further use of a lubricant grease of the currently used type. More specifically, a two-layer anti-seizure ionic coating is applied to the threads of the joint, namely a first film layer of a zinc-copper (Zn-Cu) alloy anchored to the base material of the joint to act as a support and anchorage for a second film layer of metallic lead for purely anti-seizure purposes. In this manner, said second layer of metallic lead provides effective lubrication with low shear resistance, ensuring screwing without the need for grease but with the simple use of synthesis oil, the effective anchorage achieved for said second layer and the very small lead quantity deposited ensuring against even minimum lead dispersion into the environment. Hence, the anti-seizure protection for a threaded joint or tubular sleeve, particularly suitable for the petroleum sector, is characterised according to the present invention by comprising a first film layer of copper-zinc alloy anchored to the base material of the joint and a second film layer of metallic lead anchored to said first layer. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said first layer and said second layer are anchored respectively to the base material of the joint and to the first layer by ionic deposition. The invention is described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof by way of non-limiting example in that technical, technological or constructional modifications can be made thereto without leaving the scope of protection of the present invention. For example, the invention can be applied not only to joints or sleeves used in the petroleum sector but also to the aerospace sector and in fact to any situation involving mutually sliding bodies. In said drawing the figure represents a partly sectional perspective view of a joint or sleeve formed in accordance with the invention. In the figure the reference numeral 1 indicates a joint or sleeve provided with internal threads 2 and 3 arranged to cooperate with the corresponding external threads of two pipes, not shown in the figure, which are to be connected together at their ends. To prevent possible seizure and hence ensure repeated, easy and reliable screwing and unscrewing of the joint 1 onto and from said pipes and to enable the screwing to be achieved without the need for lead-containing grease, but with the use merely of a simple synthesis oil, on said threads 2 and 3 of the joint 1 there is applied a two-layer ionic coating consisting of a first film layer 4 of Cu-Zn (copper-zinc) alloy, anchored ionically to the base material of the joint 1, and a second film layer 5 of metallic lead anchored ionically to said first layer.

Claims: Anti-seizure protection for a threaded joint or sleeve, particularly suitable for the petroleum sector, characterised by comprising a first film layer of copper-zinc alloy anchored to the base material of the joint and a second film layer of metallic lead anchored to said first layer. Anti-seizure protection for a threaded joint or sleeve as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said first layer and said second layer are anchored respectively to the base material of the joint and to the first layer by ionic deposition.

Inventors: FONTANA GIULIO, FONTANA, GIULIO
Applicants: AGIP SPA, AGIP S.P.A.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: E21B17
IPC codes: F16L58, C23C28, F16B33, E21B17, F16L15, F16C33